Group: Prentice Hospital can be saved

By Dawn Rhodes | Tribune reporterApril 22, 2011

The old Prentice Women’s Hospital, slated for demolition by Northwestern University, could be renovated as a research facility, an office building or as a residential tower for medical students and staff, according to a study by a preservation advocacy group that is trying to save the structure.

Landmarks Illinois today released its study for old Prentice, a clover-leafed structure designed in the 1970s by Marina City architect Bertrand Goldberg

In each of the three scenarios laid out by the group, the rectangular base at the foot of the building would get a translucent glass wall and a one-story, 1980s addition atop its original four-story base would be removed. The study also proposes a green roof atop the rectangular portion of the building.

The study’s authors contend that in each of its scenarios, converting the building would be less expensive than new construction. It also asserts that old Prentice can accommodate mechanical equipment for modern medical research by leaving ductwork exposed rather than concealing it with dropped ceilings. The study calls this arrangement "a popular trend in contemporary lab design."